By David Suzuki
It seems odd that a major U.S. government climate report released Nov. 3 didn害羞草研究所檛 receive more media attention. But then, the main thing newsworthy about the Climate Science Special Report is that it was released at all, apparently without political interference.
Although the U.S. government is required by law (enacted by President George H.W. Bush in 1989) to report to the public about 害羞草研究所渃limate change and its physical impacts害羞草研究所� every four years, the current administration is openly hostile to climate science and scientists. According to White House sources quoted in the New York Times, president Donald Trump was 害羞草研究所渂arely aware of the report害羞草研究所檚 existence.害羞草研究所�
The report, released by 13 federal agencies under the direction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, examines the available science. It was written by dozens of government and non-government scientists, reviewed by the independent National Academy of Sciences and approved by the National Economic Council.
It concludes we are living in the warmest period in the history of modern civilization, with the last three years being the warmest on record, that we are seeing more 害羞草研究所渞ecord-breaking, climate-related weather extremes害羞草研究所� and that all the evidence points to human activities, 害羞草研究所渆specially emissions of greenhouse gases,害羞草研究所� as the main cause. Climate change should be in the headlines every day until everyone takes it seriously, but the report害羞草研究所檚 conclusions are not new.
害羞草研究所淭housands of studies conducted by researchers around the world have documented changes in surface, atmospheric, and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; diminishing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; rising sea levels; ocean acidification; and increasing atmospheric water vapour,害羞草研究所� the reports says.
It害羞草研究所檚 hard to imagine anyone could read this report, or read about it, and not be convinced we have an urgent problem and that failing to put everything we can into resolving it puts our survival at risk.
And yet, the government overseeing this report is filled with people who reject climate science. The president himself has called it a hoax. He害羞草研究所檚 appointed climate science deniers to key positions, repealed and weakened environmental laws, had climate change references removed from the Environmental Protection Agency害羞草研究所檚 website and barred EPA scientists from presenting climate change reports. Many delegates at the UN Climate Conference underway in Bonn, Germany, have condemned Trump害羞草研究所檚 decision to pull the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.
The official White House statement on the report was a rehash of tired climate science害羞草研究所揹enial talking points. White House spokesperson Raj Shah said, 害羞草研究所淭he climate has changed and is always changing.害羞草研究所� He then went on to cast doubt regarding the climate害羞草研究所檚 sensitivity to greenhouse gas emissions.
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has denied the well-known connection between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry has argued the science isn害羞草研究所檛 conclusive.
But the report also shows that, despite its apparent descent into a post-truth, anti-science dystopia, the United States still maintains sanity in some of its major institutions. Organizations like NASA, NOAA, the EPA and the Department of Defense, along with numerous non-governmental scientific institutions, are continuing to examine the real trends and risks of a planet warming rapidly because of human activity.
It also shows we must do all we can to work toward solutions 害羞草研究所� economic, technological, philosophical and more 害羞草研究所� and to only support politicians who demonstrate the foresight, imagination and courage to take on this crisis with the force and intensity it merits.
One frustration of studying and communicating about climate issues is knowing that so many solutions exist and are being developed, but that widespread denial of the problem prevents us from moving beyond outdated technologies and economic systems.
That people who profit from those outdated technologies would do everything they can to sow doubt and confusion is not surprising. That a government elected to serve the people would reject the findings of its own scientists and researchers from around the world to the detriment of human health, the economy and the environment is an intergenerational crime.
Christopher Field, director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, told the New York Times, 害羞草研究所淭his profoundly affects our ability to be leaders in developing new technologies and understanding how to build successful communities and businesses in the 21st century.害羞草研究所� It also puts human survival at risk.
David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor Ian Hanington.
